Once in a Lifetime, Firefly Funhouse - 5 most significant WrestleMania matches of John Cena's WWE career
John Cena is probably one of the most beloved superstars in WWE today. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, someone said at some point in time, and that quote fits perfectly in the case of the Franchise Player.
The Leader of Cenation was last seen wrestling full-time in 2015 and later recurringly in 2016-'17. Cena has remained by large as a special attraction that pops out of nowhere in WWE programming.
Recently, the 16-time WWE Champion has set the wrestling world in a frenzy after he announced that he is returning on the final episode of SmackDown in 2022.
Apparently, there has even been an increase in ticket sales for the holiday episode. Evidently, that's how much people care for the WWE Superstar.
Amid rumors and a buildup on social media for a match between Cena and internet sensation Logan Paul at Show of Shows, let's look at five of the Champ's most significant WrestleMania matches.
In a two-decade-long career, there have been quite a few exceptional bouts, but the ones listed below are those that have majorly impacted Cena's career.
#5. John Cena's WrestleMania debut at the Garden
John Cena's first WrestleMania match came two years after his debut in 2002, where he faced Kurt Angle.
The Champ was featured in the 2003 Royal Rumble match, but was eliminated by The Undertaker. The rest of the year saw the Doctor of Thuganomics face then-WWE Champion Brock Lesnar for the title, a rare appearance in the main event at the time for him, and a premium live event bout against The Undertaker, among others.
Cena's moment at Madison Square Garden in 2004 established him as a singles superstar and a mainstay in the company with a solid mid-card championship win at WrestleMania XX.
The Hollywood star faced The Big Show at WrestleMania 20 in Madison Square Garden. During the bout's closing moments, Cena used his signature chain to knock out the Gaint and hit him with the Attitude Adjustment, then dubbed the FU, followed by a pinfall.
Big Show would later go on to play a recurring role in Cena's career, much like our next entry.
#4. John Cena ends JBL's tyranny on SmackDown and in turn, wins his first WWE Championship
Here's John Cena minutes after winning his first WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 21.
Do you think he or WWE had any idea how far his star would rise? https://t.co/7K3M7zmO95
The following year, John Cena became the runner-up in the Royal Rumble match. Subsequently, he defeated Kurt Angle at the No Way Out premium live event to become the number one contender to JBL's WWE Championship. Cena went on to win the belt for the first time in his career, and the rest was history.
JBL was the reigning undisputed top guy through 2004. Being an incredible talent, the former Blackjack Bradshaw drew massive heel heat after he won the title from Eddie Guerrero in a violent Texas Bullrope match at the Great American Bash.
When Cena defeated JBL at WrestleMania 21, it was a moment everyone was just dying to see happen. The two wrestlers will cap off their feud months later in a highly underrated, yet another violent "I Quit" match at the Judgment Day event.
Despite their feud ending that year, they would revisit their rivalry several times in the late 2000s until JBL retired from in-ring competition.
#3. Inside the Firefly Funhouse, Cena's career comes full circle
Perhaps the worst booking decision of Cena's WrestleMania matches happened at WrestleMania XXX.
Bray Wyatt is one of the newest and most innovative characters in the company's history. He was embroiled in a feud with the default top guy in WWE at the time, heading into the Show of Shows. Their promos were catchy, and all the storyline needed was for Wyatt to go over Cena.
But in the end, Cena got the victory over the Eater of Worlds. This in turn, hampered Wyatt's momentum majorly. Bray didn't quite recover from it for the rest of the year, despite winning feuds over Chris Jericho and Dean Ambrose.
Cut to 2020 - Cena selflessly put over The Fiend Bray Wyatt like no other, in a cinematic match that told a story so entertaining that most people forgot they were tuning in to watch a wrestling event.
Despite no moves as such, with bits of storytelling in every frame carrying the entire segment, Wyatt and Cena's Firefly Fun House match during the pandemic caught the eye of many.
Their innovative craft was on display. The match was also a fitting epilogue to their feud in WWE.
#2. Once in a Lifetime and "passing the torch"
In 2011, The Rock returned to WWE, and slowly the company planted the seeds for a match between him and John Cena. This process went on for a whole year, and even stomped over WrestleMania 27's main event.
Nevertheless, it was a new way of storytelling for WWE, and for that reason, there was excitement surrounding it. Also because, you know, it's the People's Champion and the Leader of Cenation.
Their WrestleMania 28 main event was truly special as it was a clash of generations. The Rock, to the surprise of many, defeated the Franchise Player.
A year later, WWE opted to book the previous year's WrestleMania event, which was dubbed "Once in a Lifetime," for a second straight year. This time, for the WWE Championship.
This bout was unlike their previous encounter as it was a finisher-filled spotfest and a story that didn't really work, owing to Cena being already an established name that didn't need the rub.
Passing the torch is meant to be the ascension of a new top guy, an old tradition in pro wrestling, but John Cena was not the right choice for it. Not in 2013.
Nevertheless, the Cena-Rock feud is a major achievement for WWE and stands out as a big part of Cena's career.
Honorable Mention: John Cena United States Championship Open Challenge was born post-WrestleMania 31 at the Levi's Stadium
John Cena in the main event at the time was very annoying to a lot of the viewers due to constantly being featured in top spots and going over younger talents at all costs.
In 2015, however, Cena somehow managed to win over the crowd despite continuing to go over younger talents. This has everything to do with the Franchise Player moving to the mid-card scene and elevating up-and-comers by introducing the "John Cena US Open Challenge."
A lot of under-utilized or NXT talents, for instance, answered the call. Cesaro and Sami Zayn pulled off sleeper hits against Cena on RAW.
Kevin Owens made his debut on the main roster by getting tangled with the Champ, even defeating the latter in the Prizefighter's first premium live event match.
It all started at Levi's Stadium at WrestleMania 31, where John Cena ended Rusev's undefeated streak and became the new United States Champion.
#1. Shawn Michaels and John Cena tore the roof down at Ford Field in 2007
After defeating Triple H by submission in a singles match at WrestleMania 22, there were rumors at the time of the Game and Cena in a rematch at next year's Show of Shows.
But as fate would have it, Triple H was sidelined due to a severe knee injury, and WWE went with the next best option. Which turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as Shawn Michaels faced John Cena at the Grandest Stage of Them All.
HBK found a tag partner in the Champ, and both would go on to defeat Rated-RKO to become the Tag Team Champions. At No Way Out 2007, the duo walked away with a victory over The Undertaker and Batista.
Whilst Cena's performance was solid in the previous year's WrestleMania against the Game, the Chicago crowd favored the heel challenger over the leader of Cenation. A similar case was evident when HBK stepped up to face the Champ.
In 2007, Cena was reigning as the WWE Champion for an entire year, and it was this WrestleMania match that made him one of the best irrespective of crowd reactions and being face or heel.
The bout is so underrated only because of another bout between the two wrestlers that overshadowed this one. Shawn Michaels and John Cena once again worked their magic in the most revisited RAW match of the decade and arguably all-time, where Michaels went over Cena in a non-title bout.
Sound off in the comments section below on other WrestleMania matches in Cena's career that you feel needs a mention.